Designer Lindsay Bentis says that this home, located in a suburb just outside of Boston, stands out from its traditional neighbors–inside at least. “It’s not too modern, not too traditional… I do think this interior is a big departure from many of the more very traditional homes you find in this neighborhood,” she tells us. “It’s a surprise when you walk in and I think that’s cool.”

She worked with her clients, who purchased the home right before the pandemic began, to take it from a builder spec house to a space that worked perfectly for their family and new life at home. Inspired by a mix of Californian and Scandinavian design elements, along with plenty of vintage finds, the result is stunning. She tells us more.

First, let’s go over the basics. Tell us a bit about the house!
This home was purchased by my clients right before the pandemic began. The exterior fits in with more traditional homes in the neighborhood, but the interior is laid out with more open spaces and a great family floor plan. It also has amazing exterior spaces which you don’t see as much in this area. It was a new construction, and had good bones and layout, but some of the finishes were too traditional for my client’s taste. The entire house–walls, trim, moulding and cabinets–were VERY beige/yellow. My client loved the windows and light and wanted to lighten and brighten the home to give it more of a West Coast, airy feeling. 

We’d love to know more about the clients!
They are a family of 5. Mom and Dad, plus three kids (two girls and a boy) and one amazing yellow lab, who made an appearance in some of the photos. The main goal was to make cosmetic improvements. We painted the entire house white except for one special room. We painted the interior doors dark and added brass hardware. We lightened all of the oak flooring from very dark to a very light white oak. We changed vanities and fixtures, plus added paper and new tile floors in the powder rooms. We replaced ALL of the lighting fixtures. We streamlined the ornate fireplaces with more simple stone surrounds. We added layers of texture and color.

The client’s goals were to lighten and brighten the shell of the home, and then add layers of interesting furniture. Design must haves included cool powder rooms, dark kitchen cabinets, interesting furniture, and artwork.  

You brought a lot of color into the home. How did you decide on the palette?
We decided all walls (except for office, bar and powders) would be white, and that we would layer color in softly through furnishings, rugs and art.  We ended up pulling the green, from the one room that has deep colored paint, through to the entry and kitchen only through artwork and accessories.  We also were loving the blush-colored wallpaper from the powder and pulled that through with soft accessories. 

How long did the project take, and what did the client say when they saw the finished space?
We started the fall before Covid began (October 2019), and ended late summer, early fall of 2020. I think they were very happy! The client felt the home was a representation of them, their style and their life and that makes me very happy!